Thiago Silva, who plays for Chelsea in the English Premier League, announced on May 7 that he will leave the club at the end of the season when his contract expires and join local Brazilian club Fluminense on a two-year deal.

“I’m going home,” Silva, who was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, wrote on Twitter along with a picture of himself wearing the uniform of Fluminense, the club he played for as a youth player.

A product of Fluminense’s academy, Silva was forced to move to get playing time with the first team, but he later joined the club’s first team in 2006 and helped them win a domestic cup.

He moved to Europe in 2009 and won the Italian Serie A with AC Milan and the French Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain, before winning the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea.

He also has 113 caps for Brazil. (c)AFP